Koninklijk Nederlands Normalisatie Instituut
Royal Netherlands Standardization Institute
Normcommissies op het gebied van Bouw
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers:
The value of diversity in the renewable energy industry and research community
Life cycle assessment of transparent organic photovoltaic for window applications
Robert A. M. Stern is an American architect, educator, and author known for his contributions to the field of architecture, urbanism, and design. Stern has been particularly influential in shaping the aesthetics of educational campuses through his architectural practice and academic involvement. Here are some key aspects of his approach to the aesthetics of educational campuses that attract philanthropic legacies:
Art presents a different way of looking at things than science;
one which preserves the mystery of things without undoing the mystery.
NFPA 1 Second Draft Meeting (A2026) June 2 – 3, 2025
We are guided by four interdependent titles that set the standard of care for safety and sustainability of occupancies supporting the fine arts in education communities.
(1) Chapter 43: Spraying, Dipping and Coating Using Flammable or Combustible Material of NFPA 1: Fire Code. As a “code” the public has free access to the current 2021 Edition , and Chapter 43 at the link below:
NFPA 1 Fire Code / Chapter 43 Spraying, Dipping and Coating Using Flammable or Combustible Materials
You get a sense of the back-and-forth among the technical committee members from the transcripts of committee activity linked below:
First Revisions Report (282 pages)
Our interest lies in fire safety provisions for educational occupancies with activity involving paint, chemicals used with paint (art studios) and Class III combustible materials (garment design & prototyping).








(2) NFPA also has another title — NFPA 33 Standard for Spray Application Using Flammable or Combustible Materials — provides more detail for instructional and facility maintenance operations activity.
(3) NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, much of which is derived from NFPA 1 (See: “How the Fire Code and Life Safety Code Work Together“)
(4) Finally, the International Code Council develops a competitor title — 2021 International Fire Code — which also provides fire safety standards for art, design and fashion studio safety. The IFC is developed in the Group A tranche of titles:
2021/2022 Code Development Group A
2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE
We encourage direct participation by education industry user-interests in the ICC and the NFPA code development process. A user interest in education community would have a job title similar to the following: Principal, Dean, President, Chief of Business Operations, Facility Manager, Trade Shop Foreman.
We maintain all four titles identified in this post on the standing agenda of our Prometheus (fire safety) and Fine Arts colloquia. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.
Issue: [10-31] [16-64]
Category: Fire Safety
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Josh Evolve, Marcelo Hirschler
More
Northeastern University: Safety Guide for Art Studios
Princeton University: Art Safety
University of Chicago Art Studio Safety Policy
Today we pick through the literature for best practice in recycling enterprises in education communities. We have been keeping pace with the evolution of regulations in this domain for over 15 years now. Much like the security zietgeist the number of organizations involved in standards setting and conformance will likely surprise you. It is a cross cutting topic with a growing body of expert agencies claiming some part of the domain.
We will also pick through a few representative legislative proposals. Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
Smart Recycling Machine to collect the wasted Non-woven Fabric Face Mask
*May 10, 2021
We have been keeping pace with the evolution of regulations in this domain for over 15 years now. Hydra-like growth in policy think tanks and standards-developing organizations expanding into this domain will likely surprise you. For example, in no particular order:
College and University Recycling Association
NSF International Joint Committee on Environmental Leadership Standard for Servers
Sustainability Leadership for Photovoltaic Modules
Reconditioned Electrical Equipment
Sustainable Electronics Recycling International
Environmental Protection Agency: Land, Waste, and Cleanup Topics
As in other domains, the private standards system competes with government “influencers” and incumbent proxies who make markets through legislation.
Specific requirements must be met for recycling to be economically feasible and environmentally effective. These include an adequate source of recyclates, a system to extract those recyclates from the waste stream, a nearby factory capable of reprocessing the recyclates, and a potential demand for the recycled products. These last two requirements are often overlooked—without both an industrial market for production using the collected materials and a consumer market for the manufactured goods, recycling is incomplete and in fact only “collection”.
“Not only is it good for recycling stuff, but you also see young and old working together. It connects,” said student Bjorn. @eindhovenlife @summacollege #repaircafe #voicesforrepair #GENERATIONS https://t.co/SlCx0bdTdI
— Mend It, Australia is Karen and Danny Ellis (@MendItAussie) June 4, 2022
Proud to have won two @CambridgeSust Green Impact awards for our environmental efforts. The College won a Platinum award for the 2nd year, plus an award for its mixed waste recycling points.
Well done to Jo and Justine (pictured) who led the recycling station project. pic.twitter.com/zRNbkiuQFK
— Jesus College (@JesusCollegeCam) June 6, 2022
Which Australian beaches are microplastic hot-spots? Research from Macquarie University’s AUSMAP project can help you to find low pollution beaches: https://t.co/JK43XMuAIL #microplastics #AustralianBeaches #plasticpollution @AUSMAP_AU pic.twitter.com/FZDgsAZ0Gz
— Macquarie University (@Macquarie_Uni) January 21, 2022
We are observers in the development of a new ANSI accredited electronic equipment recycling standard produced with the leadership of NSF International; a Michigan-based standards developer (founded at the University of Michigan) not far from our own offices and one of the largest in the world.
The electronic recycling space is growing quickly — reaching far upstream the value chain into how electronic equipment is designed in the first place. An overview of the project is available in the link below:
Joint Committee on Environmental Leadership Standard for Servers
A public edition is linked below:
This standard moved swiftly to market under NSF International’s continuous maintenance process. We bring it to the attention of the education facilities industry as a recommendation for lowering #TotalCostofOwnership. Participation as a User interest in American national standards development reduces “wheel reinvention” in which many recycling workgroups unnecessarily start from scratch, eliminates the need to attend costly workshops hosted by trade associations and significantly minimizes destructive competition.
This title is on the standing agenda of our Redivivus colloquium. Since our interest lies primarily with electrotechnology we collaborate with the IEEE Standards Association. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.
Issue: [14-74], [15-147], [15-148]
Category: Electrical, Telecommunications, Interior
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey, Richard Robben
Education communities are stewards of hundreds of commercial-class kitchens in which the proximate risk of electrical energy must be managed — water spills and grease, fires, worn electrical cords on countertop equipment, faulty wiring or equipment, damaged outlets or connectors, and improperly used or damaged extension cords among them. The safety and sustainability rules for this occupancy class is identified as Assembly Group A-2 in Section 303 of the International Building Code
We explore recent transcripts of expert committee activity in NEC Article 210 and provide links to video commentary.
Public comment on the Second Draft of the 2026 NEC will be received until April 18. We typically coordinate our effort with the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee. The workspace set up for generating proposals can be found in the link below.
2023 National Electrical Code (Free Access)
Other access portals:
Michigan Electrical Code: Part 8 Rules
Transcripts of the 2023 NEC are linked below:
We examine transcripts to track technical specifics that apply to student accommodation kitchens (on and off campus), university-affiliated hospital kitchens and sport arenas.
Relevant Research:
Smart Kitchen: Real Time Monitoring of Kitchen through IoT
Design of Chinese Smart Kitchen Based on Users’ Behavior
Intelligent kitchen management system based on gas safety
A Futuristic Kitchen Assistant – Powered by Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
A Multi-radar Architecture for Human Activity Recognition in Indoor Kitchen Environments
NFPA 1 Chapter 18 – Fire Department Access and Water Supply
Public Input on the 2027 Edition closes June 4, 2025
The parent title in the NFPA catalog — NFPA 1 — sets standards for fire lanes by addressing them within various chapters and sections; depending on the specific aspects of fire protection, access, and safety they pertain to. Here are some of the key sections and chapters in NFPA 1 that may include relevant information regarding fire lanes:
Since NFPA 1 covers a wide range of fire safety topics, including building design, fire protection systems, and emergency procedures, specific requirements related to fire lanes may be distributed throughout the document rather than consolidated in a single section. It’s important to carefully review the relevant chapters and sections of NFPA 1 to ensure compliance with applicable requirements for fire lane design, construction, and maintenance.
Best practice for determining snow zones, as the criteria for designating these zones can vary depending on factors such as geography, climate, population density, infrastructure, and available resources. However, municipalities typically develop their own criteria and guidelines based on these factors to create effective snow removal plans.
Common principles and factors that many municipalities consider when determining snow zones, as mentioned in the previous response. These include weather patterns, topography, traffic volume and patterns, residential density, critical infrastructure, public safety considerations, and feedback from residents and stakeholders.
Some municipalities may also adopt best practices and recommendations from organizations such as the American Public Works Association (APWA) or the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) to inform their snow removal planning processes. These organizations may offer guidance on snow zone designations, prioritization of routes, and effective snow removal techniques based on industry standards and research.
Ultimately snow zones respond to the specific needs and characteristics of each municipality, with the goal of efficiently managing winter weather events to ensure public safety and mobility.
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwB pic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
— USPTO (@uspto) July 13, 2023
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